Civil servants of the Tang Dynasty

The cough brought the head clerk back from his excitement, and the clerk turned sideways to Tang Cheng with an apologetic smile, then turned his face and waved his hands and said, "Ma Er, don't talk about this, just open the door and let me bring the wine in." Let's talk again."

"When did my master buy so much wine?" Hearing the sound of coughing, the pockmarked face also put a smile on his face. Although he was asking the boss, his eyes fell on Tang Cheng who was on the side.

"These urns of high-quality sanle pulp were given to Dr. He by this Tang official." When the head clerk said this, before Tang Cheng could wink, the clever Lai Fu had already handed Tang Cheng's famous card to the magistrate. In front of two.

Unexpectedly, Ma Er, who was just talking nonsense with the head clerk Hu Su Buji, now has a tense face, "I dare not ask for the famous assassin of honored guests", he never accepted the famous assassin that Lai Fu handed over at all. , let alone notification.

Hearing this, Tang Cheng is really out of temper. Damn, isn't he just a doorman? He's so awesome!But after all, it's because of their different identities, and there is Lai Fu negotiating over there, so it's not easy for him to intervene casually to make people laugh.

Hearing this, after Lai Fu was stunned for a moment, not only did his face not change ugly, but he smiled like a flower, "Second brother, be flexible", he called out affectionately, and his hands moved slowly. He took out a flying ticket with consistent money from his sleeve and stuffed it.

"Yiguan! This is really not old or young", after Ma Er looked at the flying ticket in his hand, he handed it back as it was, "But I can't take it, honorable guest, please go back."

Money is always the door of money, no matter what, it's not too little.Ma Er's reluctance to get in was really beyond Tang Cheng's expectations, and the boss of the wine shop on the other side was also anxious when he saw this. He couldn't leave if the wine couldn't be delivered, not to mention I'm really afraid that after going on like this, Tang Cheng will have to quit the drink. It's such a big deal, but he followed suit but gave up the drink. When he goes back to the boss, he still has to deal with him to death.

"Ma Er, don't worry about it, you're trying to save face." Before Lai Fu could say anything else, the head clerk on the donkey cart had already said: "Mr. Tang's intentions are sincere enough, Ma Zi, don't be splinted." .

"Brother Liu, do you think I think I don't have enough money?" The pockmarked concierge smiled wryly and turned to Tang Chengdao: "The owner of the house has issued an order to seal the door. These days until the end of the examination of the Ministry of Rites, please see me in Confucian uniforms." Scholars are not allowed to report." At this point, Ma Er pointed to the donkey driveway: "Especially for those who bring Lilly. It's not that I don't make it convenient, but it is really inconvenient."

The door was very clear, and Tang Cheng understood it after thinking about it for a while. He thought that there were too many scholars who came to Beijing to take the exam these days, and all of these scholars had to take the examination paper. There are differences, but He Zhizhang, who is the head of the Four Scholars in Wuzhong, must not be able to get around.After the tossing of 2000 people, He Zhizhang really couldn't stand it, so there was this door order.

And from He Zhizhang's door-blocking order, we can also see how fierce the competition in Jinshi's examination should be.

It was calculated that today was exactly the time when the yamen had a ten-day holiday on the tenth day, but Tang Cheng did not expect to encounter such a thing.For a while, Laifu and the boss didn't know what to say.

"I misunderstood, I didn't come to do the paperwork." Tang Chenglue pondered for a while, stepped forward two steps and said with a smile: "Please tell me, Tang Cheng, the secretary of the Shannan Dongdao Observation Envoy's yamen, is ordered by Master Zhengyu to learn Taoism." Come and pay a visit to Dr. He."

Speaking of this, Tang Cheng also pointed to the donkey driveway full of wine with a smile: "This is what Master Yu ordered to prepare."

That Laifu was really clever. Following Tang Cheng's words, he swiftly stuffed the flight ticket returned by Ma Er. The cooperation between the master and the servant was really tacit.

"Hey, I knew there was something wrong with it, so why delay it for so long?" Ma Er put the flying ticket into his sleeve, Ma Er apologized to Tang Cheng, took the famous badge from Fu's hand, turned around and walked quickly inside .

After waiting for a while, when Tang Cheng turned his head to look at the layout of the street where the He Mansion is located, he suddenly heard a loud and laughing voice from behind him: "'The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to go to the blue sky'. there?".

Tang Cheng turned his head to look in response, and saw a red-faced man walking out of the side door quickly. The regular clothes, the regular clothes without a waistline, had obvious wrinkles and wine stains on the front chest, and what was even more amazing was that the pair of casual shoes on his feet were kicked and pulled. Then there was a "pop" sound on the ground.

Ever since he first entered the Yunxi County Yamen, all the people in the Yamen that Tang Cheng came into contact with were neatly dressed. Affected by this, even he himself paid attention to his clothes, but he had never seen someone like He Zhizhang. official person.

Seeing it in his eyes, Tang Cheng's feet were not slow at all. He walked towards him and bowed his hands and said, "Tang Cheng, who will learn from Shannan Dongdao later, pays homage to Dr. He."

"Well, you are Tang Cheng?" He Zhizhang, who was kicking and pulling on his casual shoes, casually swayed his wide robe sleeves to pay off, then looked Tang Cheng up and down, "Yu Weighing didn't lie to me, Sure enough, he has just reached the age of the weak crown, and the younger generation is formidable, and the one who comes wins the present!".

After finishing speaking and laughing, He Zhizhang waved his sleeves and said, "The last cup of wine this afternoon has just been scalded, and guests from afar are drinking together, warming the wine and discussing poems. It's the right time for you to come! Let's go."

As He Zhizhang arrived at the flower hall, Tang Cheng saw that there were messy cups and plates on the tables in the hall. It was obvious that He Zhizhang had been drinking since lunch, and continued to drink until now.

"On weekdays, we eat at the yamen at noon, and you can't eat wine when you eat. It's rare to have a ten-day holiday once every ten days, just to feed the wine worms." He Zhizhang was not at all embarrassed by the messy cups and plates in front of him in front of Tang Cheng, a guest. , After saying something with a smile, while sitting down to Tang Chengyan, he ordered his servants to quickly bring some food for drinking.

Three or four small dishes to go with the wine, the two sat in pairs, and after filling up the cup with warm wine, He Zhizhang and Tang Cheng, who was a guest, took the wine and refilled the wine for the two of them, feeling drunk With a red face, he picked up the bamboo chopsticks on one side and jingled it on the wine glass.

"The Road to Shu is Difficult"!The rhythm played by He Zhizhang is exactly "The Road to Shu".

Just when Tang Cheng filled up the wine and put down the wine cup, he heard the sound of singing and poetry in his ears suddenly accompanied by the jingling rhythm:

Alas, the danger is high!The difficulty of the road to Shu is more difficult than going to the blue sky.

He Zhizhang's poems suddenly did not suppress the volume at all, Chun Ren's chest gushed out with the pride of the poems, and there was no brewing process from low to high, from reserved to unrestrained, Siming Kuangke He Zhizhang's singing with wine, from the very beginning of the opening "Ah, the danger is high!", has been full of pride, swaying unrestrainedly in the sonic house.

Compared with those professional singers, although He Zhizhang's voice quality is not as good, he is both a fanatic, a wine fairy, and a representative figure of the spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It is difficult for any professional singer in the world to compare with his understanding and grasp of the environment.Therefore, without the accompaniment of musicians, this eternal masterpiece was sung by him with the most spiritual and desolate charm.

With the progress of the poem, He Zhizhang's unrestrained emotions rushed up in waves, and his voice became louder and louder. Seeing He Zhizhang's wildness, and hearing the long song that fits the charm of this work, Tang Cheng felt something in his heart was disturbed. Ignite the same thing, when the singer sang this poem for the first time in Daya Zhizheng Garden, he could calmly deal with it, but now he couldn't bear it anymore.

After he picked up the wine cup between his hands and drank it down, Tang Cheng didn't even put down the wine glass, and the other hand picked up the bamboo chopsticks and jingled them in response to He Zhizhang's rhythm.

With the glass in his left hand and the chopsticks in his right hand, Tang Cheng knocked and sang an easy-going long song at full volume:

Erlai is forty-eight thousand years old and does not communicate with Qin Sai.

There is a bird trail in Xidang Taibai, which can cross the top of Emei.

Dibengshan destroyed the strong men to death, and then the ladders and stone stacks were hooked together.

On the top there is the high standard of the six dragons returning to the sun, and on the bottom there is the Huichuan where the waves are reversed.

……

Since time travel, first forced by life, and later in pursuit of ideals, Tang Cheng has spent most of his time living in complicated government offices. Tang Cheng has never had such a moment when he doesn't think about anything and just let his emotions go. At this moment, he All of a sudden, it seems to be back to those few days after graduating from university in the later generations, the scene where people in a dormitory unscrupulously beat their rice bowls with iron spoons, ghosts and wolves howled.

No scruples, no limitations, let go of all restraints, purely let the emotions flow out endlessly, the louder the hands are knocked, the louder the singing is, the faster the emotions are poured out, the more the feelings between the whole heart will be. The easier and the cleaner, when the last sentence was finally sung loudly, Tang Cheng couldn't help shouting: "Happy!".

Just at the same time he said this sentence, He Zhizhang, who suddenly threw the bamboo chopsticks in his hand, also shouted the same sentence in unison. After drinking, the old and the young looked at each other and laughed in unison. .

"What a good Tang Cheng, so happy!" While pointing at Tang Cheng and laughing, He Zhizhang raised his head and drank his glass of wine.

It was said to be the last cup of wine, but Tang Cheng couldn't remember how much he drank that afternoon, and he seemed to have forgotten the purpose of coming here. Drink, talk about poetry with wine.

You drink, I drink, you say one sentence, I sing as you sing, this afternoon, Tang Cheng, who is not crazy by nature, is like a lunatic, completely releasing himself and following He Zhizhang to his heart's content.

This afternoon, Tang Cheng's descendants had never experienced madness in this life, and it was also unprecedentedly close to instinct. Similarly, his whole body and mind also strongly felt the unprecedented relaxation and comfort that was almost clear after being completely released.

When another ouu of wine was gone, and when the sun outside the flower hall had slanted to the setting sun, He Zhizhang, who was sitting crookedly, raised his head, "Tang Cheng, if I were the minister of the Ministry of Rites, what should I do today?" You must be the leader of the Jinshi department." In the Tang Dynasty, the Ministry of Rites was in charge of the imperial examinations, and the minister of the Ministry of Rites was the official examiner.

Although the wine at this time was pressed and the alcohol content was not high, but he really couldn't stand drinking too much. Now Tang Cheng was already blushing, and even his reaction was much slower than usual. Hearing this, he said with a smile : "You will definitely be in the future, but not now".

"Yeah, I'm not right now," He Zhizhang shook his head vigorously to clear himself up, "So there's really a limit to what I can help you with this year's scientific examination."

"It doesn't matter how much you can help, it's boring if it's a friend who said that." Tang Cheng, who was full of drunkenness, suddenly leaned forward and lay down on the table in front of him, knocking over the wine cup. When he fell to the ground with a "snap", he didn't even notice it. He just stared straight at He Zhizhang, and said in a dry voice after drinking a lot: "Tell me, are we friends? Tell me!".

Seeing Tang Cheng's naive appearance after being drunk, He Zhizhang couldn't help laughing for a while, and continued while laughing: "Zhang Chunjiang and I can only recommend poems for you with the best name, but Jinshi is too reserved. It's expensive, and the quota is small. With our humble positions, I can't push you to the gold list in high school. Tang Cheng, if you want to win this subject, the key lies in Princess Taiping of Zhenguo."

"Since last year, the princess has put in a lot of effort in Shilin. If she hears that there are poor scholars who are struggling, she will donate money and food. Therefore, she has a very good reputation in Shilin. In addition, the minister of the Ministry of Rites who is in charge of the examination was originally from her school, so today Ke Ruo got it right, it would be impossible without the princess nodding, Tang Cheng, can you write it down?" He shook his head and tried to stay awake after saying this, but there was no response for a long time, He Zhizhang looked at Tang Cheng intently At that time, he saw that he was already asleep on the table.

"It's good to be informal and have the heart of a child!" After praising with a smile, He Zhizhang turned his head and said loudly: "Come here, call the chief follower who came with the guests."

When Laifu walked into the flower hall, his eyes almost popped out when he saw Tang Cheng, who was lying on the desk with a flushed face and sleeping soundly.

He has been with Tang Cheng for some time, and he has always known that his master is the most self-controlled. He never thought that he would have such a drunken appearance today.

Rao is He Zhizhang, who is known as the Immortal of Wine. After drinking for a long time, he is really dying now. After explaining to Laifu what he told Tang Cheng just now, he ordered his servants to take Tang Cheng back in his xuan car .

When Laifu and He's servants set up Tang Cheng, Tang Cheng who was startled opened his out-of-focus eyes and looked at He Zhizhang blankly for a moment, then said dryly: "You will definitely be the servant of the Ministry of Rites in the future, definitely!".

Hearing this, following He Zhizhang, who laughed and waved his hands, Laifu and Tang Cheng, who was wearing glasses and closed them, left the flower hall...

Chapter 183 Heroic Li Sanlang

"The wind blows the fragrance of Sophora japonica flowers all over the store, and Orchid presses the wine to persuade customers to taste it." These two lines of Li Bai's poem just explain the production method of Tang wine.At this time, most of the wine was "pressed" from fruit, which was not comparable to the distilled wine of later generations. Because of insufficient purification, even the so-called strongest fruit wine sanle pulp was only a dozen degrees, but it was slightly higher than the beer of later generations. only high.

This kind of wine, with this kind of strength, is really invisible to a time traveler who graduated from university and has a working experience. In fact, since Tang Cheng came here, he has participated in quite a few banquets. , but in fact he has never been drunk even once.He once even thought that he would never get drunk in the Tang Dynasty, but he didn't expect...

In a vague way, an unusually majestic big city appeared in front of Tang Cheng. In this city, the streets were orderly, prosperous and prosperous. Teams of mules and horses, and even camel teams brought together treasures from all over the world; Celebrities and Confucians in Confucian uniforms came here from all over the world, merchants gathered, celebrities gathered, and the sound of hawking and poetry chanting lingered over the entire city.Suddenly, the city exuding endless vitality fell silent in an instant, and all the people in the city gathered their eyes in unison in silence.

What they were looking up at was the tower of Xiongcheng. At this moment, there was only one person on the tower at the dawn of dawn looking down quietly, looking at this Xiongcheng full of vigor and vigor.

Tall and tall, his back is very young, but this young back is full of confidence and boldness. After standing for a while, the young man raised his head silently, and his eyes turned to a more distant place...

Suddenly, the young man turned his head, and Tang Cheng could see him clearly. He...he...had a face exactly like his own...seeing himself in the mirror suddenly came alive...it was incomparable Tang Cheng couldn't help but yelled "Ah" at the weird scene.

"High officials, high officials..." From the familiar voice in his ears to the familiar people in front of his eyes, Tang Cheng finally woke up from his drunken sleep.

His throat was so dry that it was about to smoke, his head was dizzy and heavy, and Tang Cheng, who had just opened his eyes, said with a shabby voice, "What's wrong?".

"Senior officer, you are drunk."

As Laifu said, he served Tang Cheng with a cup of herbal tea that had been prepared in his hand.

With the cold tea pouring into his stomach, Tang Cheng woke up completely this time. While turning his head to look at the sky outside, the scenes of yesterday afternoon naturally came to mind.

"It's been a while since I've been with a senior official. This is the first time I've seen a senior official drunk." Lai Fu was talking in his mouth, and he quickly prepared the toilet water, "But I drank a lot yesterday. No matter how young or old, when Dr. He asked someone to call me in, I saw that there were no less than thirty wine cups scattered in the room! One cup is the weight of a catty, so if you calculate it like this, you can drink it, a senior official. No matter how little it is, there must be about ten catties, tsk tsk!".

Hearing this, getting up from the couch, Tang Cheng, who was sitting on the pillow, shook his head and laughed at himself.

"However, the high-ranking official's wine taste is good, even when he is drunk, he is not noisy..." Lai Fu, who was busy with work, said this with a smile, and Tang Cheng, who was startled on the bed, interrupted him in a deep voice. His words, "Laifu, what did I say when I was drunk yesterday?".

"I didn't say anything." Lai Fuza turned around with his hands soaked in water, and said with a smile: "Why don't you say that the officials have good wine and don't move or talk when they're drunk? That's all." A few words are still good words."

"What words?"

"You can definitely be the servant of the Ministry of Rites, you can! That's what the official said." When he said this, Laifu smiled, "Dr. He was very happy to hear what the official said, and there was no smile on his face." stopped".

"Did I really say this?".

"I said it, the villain can hear it clearly."

During the Kaiyuan period, He Zhizhang served as the minister of the Ministry of Rites and was in charge of Tang Wencheng for several years. What he said were not auspicious words at all, but historical facts, real historical facts.Letting out a long breath, Tang Cheng, who closed his eyes slightly, felt more guarded than he was grateful.

Alcohol can mess with sex!And once the situation is chaotic, the situation is out of his control. For Tang Cheng, who is hiding the No. [-] secret in the world, this situation is not only uncomfortable, but also implies a huge and even fatal risk.

"Laifu, remember, if you encounter such a thing in the future, you need to remind me not to drink too much." Hearing this, Laifu turned his head in surprise and saw Tang Cheng's serious face, so he didn't say anything more nod.

"Well, this matter needs to be kept in mind." After Fu explained again, Tang Cheng got down from the couch to wash up.

While serving Tang Cheng to freshen up, Lai Fu, who remembered what He Zhizhang explained yesterday, repeated those words carefully.

Tang Cheng covered his dry face with a hot towel, and listened quietly to Lai Fu's story.

Lao He and Zhang Chunjiang can only help to make their names known, and Princess Taiping of Zhenguo needs to nod to be admitted.What Lao He said did not surprise him, Shilin Huaxuan!After all, the number of places in the Jinshi Department is too expensive, the quota is small, and there are too many people who come to Beijing to take the exam. This year's number plus the previous year's number, by the time of the imperial examination in February next spring, it will be able to rise in Chang'an. Famous people, no matter what, must be more than the ten or twenty admission places.In this case, it is time for the powerful to intervene to determine the ownership of extremely scarce resources.

It's one thing to figure it out and understand it, but it's another to do it.Princess Taiping of Zhenguo, for Tang Cheng at this time, his status is too far away from this legendary princess, so far away that it is difficult to meet the previous one, let alone the other ones.

It is even more difficult to meet a high-ranking official in later generations, not to mention that this is still the Tang Dynasty that values ​​​​the rank of respect and inferiority. If you just leave like this, you may not even be able to enter the gate.

"It's definitely not enough to ask straight to the point." Applying a hot towel to the face can shrink the skin and boost the spirit.Tang Cheng was already in good spirits when he put down the towel, "Don't take it straight, it's easy to ask for it, come for blessings, and prepare meals!".

After breakfast, Tang Cheng took out the jade sleeve given by Zhang Liang that day from his luggage, and then went straight out of the inn.

An Guoxiang's mansion is so easy to find, anyone can know it.Seeing the grandeur of the red walls and green tiles in front of him and the eight captains in chain mail on both sides of the wide-open red door, Laifu's mouth tightened a little, "Grand officials, famous assassins...".

"No need," Tang Cheng waved his hand with a smile, and walked straight to the concierge.

As expected of the style of the palace, the gatehouse alone is much larger than the main hall of Tang Cheng's Jinzhou mansion. Not to mention the interior layout, the most shocking thing is the eunuch's door in palace uniform.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Seeing Tang Cheng coming in, the eunuch Menzi in the concierge asked lazily with a male duck voice and a Shaanxi accent.

This is the first time Tang Cheng has seen a real eunuch, "It really is neither male nor female." After carefully looking at the eunuch, Tang Cheng said with a smile: "Shannan Dongdao Observation Envoy Tang Cheng, the secretary of the yamen, please see the county eunuch. His Highness the Third King".

Before the frowning eunuch could say anything, Tang Cheng stretched out his backhand, and the jade tablet in his sleeve was presented in front of the eunuch.

"I am born to be useful." After the eunuch turned over and saw the word "Li Longji" on the back of the jade card, his frown just turned into a real flattering smile. ".

"You are new here, what are you going to log in as a respected guest of the Third Highness, what a fool!" The eunuch first scolded a boy who came over with a brochure, then got up and waved another The young man who came forward to lead the way was waved away, "Let's come by ourselves, so you can guard the porter well."

"It seems that Zhang Liang didn't talk too much, this jade card is really very precious." While taking back the jade card in his hand, Tang Cheng cast a wink at Lai Fu who followed him in.

While nodding, Laifu fumbled in his sleeve, as usual, this is a palace man, he really can't do it!Even if it's two rounds...there are too many ten rounds, which makes Lai Fu's heart ache.Finally, when he found a five-pass coupon from the pile of flying tickets, Laifu was finally satisfied, and then the opportunity to take a step forward slipped into Tang Cheng's hands.

Lai Fuzi was waiting at the concierge, while Tang Cheng was led by the eunuch to walk into the palace of thousands of households.

After receiving the Wuguanmenzi money handed over by Tang Cheng, the eunuch named Fuhai showed a half-smile look on his face. After walking around for a while, he had brought Tang Cheng to a courtyard surrounded by many people. Composed of cross-yard front.

There was also a gate guarding the courtyard, and after passing the jade plaque over again, Tang Cheng's old acquaintance Zhang Liang came out with a smile after a while.

"Ah Cheng, why did you arrive so late?" Zhang Liang also took out a flying ticket from his pocket and sent the eunuch off, then turned his head and smiled and cupped his hands and said, "When you count, your arrival really counts." morning".

"As long as it's not too late," Tang Cheng smiled and returned a salute, then turned his head and gave the eunuch who had just left a look, "Brother Zhang, how much did you dismiss him just now?".

"Twenty Guan, what's the matter?" Hearing this, Zhang Liang was a little puzzled.

At this point, Tang Cheng finally understood the origin of Fu Hai's weird expression just now, and smiled as he walked in: "No wonder people say that Hou's family is as deep as the sea, and don't talk about it if it's not deep. A door costs twenty guan. If people are poor, they really can’t afford it.”

"This is him! After all, he was assigned by the palace. Spend a little money to save big troubles. Ah Cheng, you didn't register your name when you came in." The benefits of money".

"If you board, you will board, what's the point?".

Hearing this, Zhang Liang shook his head with a smile and said in a low voice: "Ah Cheng's words are wrong. The registration booklets of the visitors of each prince's mansion have to go to the Chengzongren Temple on a monthly basis. Not for this, the Third Highness is in this mansion He is neither the first son nor the eldest son. The fief is in Linzi, and he has just returned to Beijing and there are a lot of visitors, so he is still taboo after all."

"Back to Beijing! A large number of visitors!" Although Zhang Liang said cryptically, Tang Cheng already understood what he meant, nodded with a smile and stopped asking.

Arriving at the front and back of the main room door of a small side courtyard at the end of the Kuayuan, Zhang Liang slowed down and whispered to Tang Cheng: "There is a meeting inside, sit with me after entering, but just listen."

After Tang Cheng nodded, he followed Zhang Liang who opened the door and walked in.

There are no less than ten people sitting in this not-so-small main room, both young and old. Although two of them are wearing casual clothes, judging from their sitting postures and the smell they emit from their bodies, they are definitely not eating. A military warrior.

After scanning the people in the room, Tang Cheng's eyes were finally firmly attracted by the young man sitting on the couch.

"Li Longji", the name popped into Tang Cheng's mind almost as soon as he saw him.

Roughly equal to the height of 1.8 meters in later generations, Li Longji, who is already sitting tall, looks majestic, and everyone else in the room is under his gaze.His facial features are quite similar to Tang Cheng's, not as handsome as the younger generation of Guisheng, but more of the clear outline of his ancestors in Longxi.The nanmu window is open, and a ray of sunlight shines through the window and reflects on half of the face. In the contrast between light and shadow, the chiseled Li Longji shows his vigorous heroism.

What impressed Tang Cheng the most was Li Longji's eyes. There is a vulgar saying in later generations that says "eyes are the windows to the soul", and Li Longji in front of him is the best proof of this vulgar saying. There are far more black pupils in his eyes than in ordinary people, which makes his already radiant eyes brighter and brighter.

With such a body shape, such a sitting posture, and such a contour of facial features, under the guidance of such a pair of eyes, Tang Cheng, who looked at Li Longji, let out a sigh of relief. He had only read the description in history books before, but now he sees it for real. It's up to me, but fortunately, Li Longji, who is in the age of ambitious youth, at least in appearance, did not disappoint him after all.This is what a hero who worked hard in the first half of his life and created the era of Kaiyuan's heyday should look like this.

When Tang Cheng was staring at Li Longji, Li Sanlang also turned his head.